


Drifting Windwitch

by calvinhobbesliker



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Yuya/Rin Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-10 04:42:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15942008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calvinhobbesliker/pseuds/calvinhobbesliker
Summary: Between Episodes 6 and 7, Clear Wing transports Rin to the Standard Dimension to protect her from Yuri. She then befriends Yuya and Yuzu as she tries to find a way back home, and they all begin to learn about the interdimensional war.





	1. Chapter 1

Having fallen on the ground, Rin looked up fearfully at the boy approaching her slowly but menacingly. She had noticed for a few days that someone had been following her, and now he had decided to finally catch her.

The boy, who called himself Yuri, shared the same face as her best friend, Yugo. The expressions that face made, however, were completely unfamiliar to her. When he had first approached her, her first instinct was to duel him. Yugo had given her his treasured Clear Wing Synchro Dragon when she had told him that she was being followed, and Rin thought she would have a good chance combining the dragon with her Windwitch deck. But since she didn’t have her and Yugo’s Duel Runner with her, dueling would mean standing still and taking damage, which would only make her an easier target.

Therefore, Rin had tried to escape, putting her knowledge of the streets of the Commons to good use, but Yuri was easily able to keep up with her. Exhausted from running, she tripped and landed on the ground, allowing the creepy boy to get within reach. The girl thought she was done for, closing her eyes and thinking, “Yugo, please help me!”

In fact, her plea was answered, not by her friend, but by his dragon. Clear Wing’s card shined extremely brightly, forcing Yuri to cover his eyes. When the light faded, he looked and saw no trace of the girl he was chasing.

Unbeknownst to him, Yugo had witnessed the event. He was worried earlier when Rin was late coming back to their place, so he had taken off on their Duel Runner to find her. He arrived nearby just in time to see his best friend about to be captured. Just before intervening, he saw the bright light signaling Rin’s disappearance. He then took a good look at the other boy and was shocked to see his own face.

Yuri was extremely confused and frustrated. He had enjoyed toying with the girl, and seeing her on the ground in such a miserable state had filled him with glee. But after she disappeared, he realized that he had failed in his mission. Having no idea where the girl could have gone, or even if she was still in the Synchro dimension, Yuri decided to teleport back home, to Duel Academy.

Yugo thus watched Rin’s would-be captor disappear before he could confront him, and pounded his fist on the side of his vehicle in frustration. He then vowed to find Rin again and get revenge on that twisted boy who had copied his face.

* * *

When Rin opened her eyes, she found herself in an open park. The girl stood and examined her surroundings, observing the evening sky and looking around the city she was transported to. She quickly realized, “This isn’t Neo Domino City!”

  
The most prominent landmark was an hourglass-shaped tower with the labels “LEO” and “LDS” at the top on the two visible sides. The rest of the city was very beautiful, and Rin didn’t see any of the divisions that characterized the split between the Tops and Commons in her hometown.

The girl then pulled out Yugo’s beloved card from her duel disk and looked at it, musing to herself, “Yugo was right, Clear Wing protected me by sending be here! But where is here?” A part of her felt silly for believing that a card, even one as special as Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, could have that ability, but she felt in her heart that it was true.

After placing the card back in her Extra Deck, she looked up and saw a boy staring at her. He walked up to her and asked with a confused tone, “Yuzu, what are you doing here? I thought you were at home!”

She began to reply, “Yuzu? I’m not Yuzu, my name is-” but was shocked into silence when she saw the face of the boy in front of her. It was a perfect match to Yugo’s face, and she uttered, “Yugo? Is that you?”

The boy shook his head and replied, “No, my name is Yuya Sakaki. So you’re not Yuzu?”

The girl answered, “No, my name is Rin. Do I look like your friend Yuzu? Because you look exactly like my friend Yugo!” Rin proceeded to show Yuya a picture of Yugo she had saved on her duel disk.

Yuya’s eyes widened as he saw his own face on the screen, and exclaimed, “Wow, you weren’t kidding! And yeah, you look just like Yuzu.” The boy showed her a picture of his friend on his own duel disk.

Rin agreed, “Wow, yeah she looks exactly like me too! It’s like we have identical twins!” Both teens then laughed a bit at the absurdity of their situation. After a bit, the girl decided to ask, “Hey, Yuya, could you tell me where exactly we are right now?”

The boy was a bit confused, but answered, “We’re in Miami City. Are you not from around here?”

The girl had never heard of Miami City, so she was not much closer to finding out where they were. She answered, “No, I’m from Neo Domino City.”

Yuya was equally confused, and admitted, “I don’t think I’ve heard of that place.”

Rin was shocked, and exclaimed, “How could you not know about Neo Domino City? It’s the greatest dueling city in the country, home of Turbo Duels and the King, Jack Atlas!”

  
The boy shook his head, “Sorry, I have no idea about any of that. What are Turbo Duels?”

Rin explained, “It’s when you duel while riding Duel Runners, which are basically motorcycles with special engines and other parts that allow you to duel.”

The boy’s eyes widened in excitement, and he exclaimed, “Wow, that sounds so cool! So you’re a duelist?”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, and I guess you are too?” Seeing Yuya nod, Rin continued, “Well, what’s dueling like here in Miami? It looks like you don’t have Turbo Duels or Duel Runners here.”

Yuya explained, “Well over here, we have Action Duels with Real Solid Vision! Basically, our monsters and cards come to life and we can interact with them and also feel real damage. And we duel in different Action Fields, with Action Cards scattered everywhere.”

Rin asked, “What are Action Cards?”

The boy continued, “They’re usually Spell Cards that can be grabbed and used to help you, but you can only hold one at a time. Occasionally they’re Trap Cards that can work against you.”

Rin found the concept a bit weird, since it meant that players wouldn’t have to worry as much about card advantage. However, she decided to withhold judgement, “That sounds pretty cool, maybe we can duel and you can show me?”

Yuya smiled and eagerly offered, “Sure! But we can’t get an Action Field here; we’d have to go back to my Duel School, where we have the system set up.” He then thought for a few seconds and wondered, “So, if you didn’t know where you are, how did you get here?”

The girl laughed nervously, wondering whether she should tell him the truth. Eventually, she took out Clear Wing and showed it to Yuya, explaining, “I know it sounds silly, but I think Clear Wing teleported me here from my city.”

Yuya raised an eyebrow, finding her claim a bit far-fetched, but said, “Yeah, it sort of does, but I’ve seen plenty of weird stuff.” After all, if his cards could magically change in the middle of a duel, a card having teleportation powers was not out of the question. He then looked more closely at Rin’s card, and felt a connection between that dragon and his own Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

Yuya looked back up at Rin and excitedly gushed, “Wow, you’re a Synchro duelist? That’s so cool!” The boy had had a lot of fun dueling Sora, who was very proficient in Fusion summoning, and he was excited for the potential opportunity to witness Synchro summoning, especially from someone who hopefully wouldn’t pester him as much.

Rin laughed, “Really? Where I’m from, everyone is a Synchro duelist! Is it really that rare over here?”

The boy nodded, “Yeah, we have Synchro summoning here, as well as Fusion and Xyz, but only some people know how to use them.” Yuya pointed at the huge tower and added, “The Leo Duel School over there teaches all the summoning methods, but it’s a very elite school.”

Rin put her empty fist over her mouth and giggled at the notion of needing to take classes to learn how to Synchro summon. After all, it was simple arithmetic. Nevertheless, she was curious about the other summoning methods he mentioned, and said, “Well, I’ve never heard of Fusion of Xyz summoning. We only use Synchro and occasionally Ritual summoning.”

Yuya replied, “Yeah, we have Ritual summoning here too, but it’s also not that popular.”

Rin then questioned, “What about you, do you use any of these other methods?” She hoped that she would get the chance to see these other summoning methods in action.

The boy nervously rubbed his head, answering, “No, I don’t go to LDS, so I don’t really know how to use any of them.” Yuya wavered for a few seconds before deciding to reveal, “I actually came up with a brand new summoning method, called Pendulum Summoning!”

Yuya quickly took out his deck and removed three cards to show to Rin: Stargazer Magician, Timegazer Magician, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. She examined the cards, which were partially colored like Effect Monsters and partially colored like Spells. She wondered, “So can you use these as both monsters and spells? And what are those numbers on the sides?”

The boy replied, “Yeah, sort of.” Putting away his cards, he winked at her and teasingly added, “As for the scales, I’ll keep that as a surprise for when we duel! After all, I have no idea how Synchro summoning works, so we’ll be even!”

Rin did not quite agree, and showed it by lightly punching his shoulder, before smirking, “Fine, Yuya Sakaki, if that’s how it’s gonna be, I’ll make sure to take you down!”

Yuya rubbed his shoulder, since the punch actually hurt a bit, but he was used to getting hit by Yuzu’s fan, so it wasn’t too bad.

The boy then offered to take Rin to Yuzu’s place, since he was planning on visiting his friend anyway. The girl was a bit hesitant, but agreed, since she was curious enough to meet the girl who looked exactly like her.

Yuya called Yuzu and asked if he could bring over a friend he met in the park. Yuzu was a bit annoyed at the sudden request, especially when she learned that his new friend was a girl, but she agreed, figuring that at least she had the chance to meet this new girl and keep an eye on her.

As they started walking back, Rin asked, “So, are you and Yuzu really close?” She thought about how her and Yugo were inseparable ever since they were little, and how they were always there for each other.

Yuya smiled, “Yeah, we’ve been best friends ever since we were little! She’s always had my back and helped me out when I needed it.” Rubbing his head, he chuckled and continued, “I just wish she wouldn’t hit me with her paper fan so often.”

Rin giggled, guessing that Yuzu was like her and liked to keep her Yugo in line too. She wondered how Yugo was doing without her. The girl figured he was probably riding around on their Duel Runner, frantically looking for her, and hoped he wouldn’t get himself in too much trouble looking for her.

For the rest of the journey, Rin and Yuya talked a bit more about their lives. Yuya told her about his dreams of becoming an Entertainment Duelist, and Rin talked about her and Yugo’s dream of participating in the Friendship Cup and defeating Jack Atlas.

Rin found that Yugo and Yuya had a lot in common with each other, and she counted herself extremely lucky that she found someone who could perhaps help her get back home. But she also looked forward to having some fun in this new city with more diverse summoning methods.


	2. Chapter 2

When Yuya had called and told her that he was bringing a girl that he just met over to her place, Yuzu was shocked and a bit annoyed, though she managed to hide it from her friend over the phone. After the call ended, the girl couldn’t help but think about why Yuya seemed so excited about this girl named Rin and why he had insisted that she would get along well with Rin. 

Yuzu thought back to a couple of days ago, when Sora had assumed that she was Yuya’s girlfriend. Yuya said that there was “nothing sweet about her.” Although the boy had apologized to her later, it didn’t completely take away from the pain she felt hearing those words.

It did not take long for Yuya and Rin to reach her house, and when Yuzu opened the door, she was in for a huge surprise. Yuya’s new friend looked exactly like her!

Rin was the first to speak, exclaiming, “Hey, you must be Yuzu!” The two girls shook hands, and Rin turned to Yuya, telling him, “Wow, you were right, it’s like we’re long-lost twins!” Seeing a picture of Yuzu was one thing, but seeing her in person made their resemblance seem uncanny.

Yuzu awkwardly agreed, then turned to Yuya and asked, “So Yuya, how exactly did you find this girl who looks exactly like me?” As they were conversing, the three teens settled themselves in the living room.

Yuya looked at Rin, mentally debating how much he should reveal. He began, “Well, I was at the park, and when I saw her, I thought it was you, Yuzu! After she corrected me, we talked a bit, and it turns out that she’s a Synchro duelist! Isn’t that so cool?”

Yuzu chuckled, imagining what Rin’s reaction might have been to being mistaken for someone else. She then agreed, “Yeah, that is really cool!” She then narrowed her eyes at her friend, asking, “Did you guys duel? Is that why you’re so late, Yuya?”

The boy nervously rubbed his head and revealed, “No, not yet. We just talked for a bit.” 

Rin added, “Yeah, actually, I’m not from around here, so I was asking Yuya about where we are.” She continued by telling Yuzu about Neo Domino City, where everyone knew how to Synchro summon, but where Fusion and Xyz summoning were unheard of.

Rin’s statement triggered a flashback from Yuzu, who remembered Sora revealing that everyone where he came from knew how to Fusion summon. Yuzu felt that there was some bigger connection she was missing, but she didn’t yet have enough information to piece together the puzzle. 

Instead, she asked Rin how she had gotten to Miami City from her own hometown. The Synchro girl took out her Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and told Yuzu, “I think this card transported me here.” 

Yuzu was somewhat skeptical of this and looked to Yuya, but he shrugged and said, “Hey, if my Odd-Eyes can change into a Pendulum card in the middle of a duel, it’s not as shocking that her dragon can teleport her.” 

Rin was a bit surprised at the boy’s statement, and interjected, “Wait, your cards changed during the duel?”

Yuya affirmed, “Yeah, I’m not sure how exactly it happened, but my Odd-Eyes Dragon, Stargazer, and Timegazer Magicians changed from regular Effect Monsters to Pendulum Monsters, and my Odd-Eyes became Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. The other weird thing is that afterwards, I didn’t remember how I Pendulum summoned, so I had to practice hundreds of times until I could do it again!”

Rin’s eyes widened as she took in this surprising bit of information, wondering how someone could forget something like that. After a moment, she responded, “Well, at least you know how to do it now, right?” 

Yuya nodded, “Yeah, I do.” He vividly recalled losing to Yuzu in part because he did not remember how to correctly Pendulum Summon. But at least he was able to figure it out in friendly duels instead of during an official duel.

Yuzu then changed the subject by asking, “Hey Rin, so how exactly does Synchro Summoning work?” 

Rin winked at the girl and smirked, “Oh, you’ll have to wait until I duel Yuya tomorrow to find out! After all, it’s no fun spoiling the surprise!”

Yuya nodded, agreeing with her reasoning. He felt the duel would be much more exciting if they didn’t know about each other’s methods beforehand.

A bit later, Yuzu’s father, Shuzo Hiragi, returned back home. He was just as speechless when he saw Rin as Yuya and Yuzu were. After his two students explained the situation, he enthusiastically welcomed Rin to stay with them. The girl was a bit hesitant to accept at first, but she figured it would be better than sleeping outside.

Once the three teens were alone again, Rin turned to her lookalike and asked, “Yuzu, do you know how to Pendulum Summon too?”

Yuzu frowned, looking down at her lap, before admitting, “No, only Yuya has the cards required for Pendulum Summoning so far, since he only invented it about a week ago. My deck focuses on Tribute Summoning and Special Summoning.” 

Yuya placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her, “Hey, don’t be so sad! Just because you don’t use any of the fancy summoning methods doesn’t mean you’re not a great duelist!”

His friend looked up at him and smiled, replying, “Thanks, Yuya.” Yuzu sometimes felt like she was falling behind Yuya as a duelist, but she knew the best solution was to keep getting stronger. 

Unbeknownst to the pair, Rin watched their interaction with a wistful smile. She hoped that she could reunite with Yugo soon, but Yuya and Yuzu were pretty good company in the meantime. 

It was not long before Yuya had to go back home, and the girls followed him to the door. He said goodnight to Yuzu and then turned to Rin, telling her, “I’m looking forward to dueling you tomorrow!”

The girl smirked back and retorted, “Yep, I’m looking forward to beating you!” Her quip caused the three teens to laugh for a bit.

Rin then smiled at Yuya, firmly wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his shoulder. She said out loud, “Thanks for helping me out, Yuya!” 

The boy was a bit flustered by the sudden hug, but gently returned it, replying, “No problem, Rin, and we’ll do everything we can to help you get home!” 

Yuzu was getting annoyed at them acting so close, and was relieved when Yuya and Rin separated a bit later, after which Yuya finally left.

Afterwards, the two girls went into the bedroom, and Yuzu was glad to finally be able to talk to her “twin” one-on-one. She commented in a suspicious tone, “So Rin, it seems that you and Yuya are pretty close for having just met.” 

Rin smirked and replied, “Yeah, he got pretty excited after seeing Clear Wing and hearing that I’m a Synchro duelist! But you don’t have to worry about me going after your Yuya!” 

Yuzu immediately started blushing and stuttering, “M-my Yuya? What are you talking about? It’s not like he’s my boyfriend or anything…”

The Synchro girl giggled at her flustered state, and then teasingly said, “If you say so.” She then brought up a picture on her duel disk and showed it to Yuzu, who was very shocked at seeing a boy who looked exactly like Yuya. Rin explained, “This is Yugo, we’ve been friends ever since we were little, just like you and Yuya!”

Yuzu was not sure what to make of both her and Yuya having “twins,” but managed to ask, “What’s he like? Is he like Yuya?”

Rin chuckled, quipping, “Not really. Or at least not any more than you are like me.” She smiled brightly at she thought about her friend, continuing, “Heh, Yugo is such a goofball, and he always acts before he thinks, and is always so stubborn. But he’s the best thing in my life, and I don’t know what I would do without him.”

Yuzu smiled at Rin’s earnest revelation, laughing a bit and guessing, “He sounds like a handful!” She thought that Yugo was a bit like Yuya after all. Yuya often acted silly, but she knew that it was in part to cheer himself up after his father’s disappearance. Like Rin with Yugo, Yuzu also could not imagine being apart from Yuya. 

Rin nodded and once again took out Clear Wing, telling the other girl, “Yeah, and actually, Clear Wing is Yugo’s card, but he let me borrow it for a bit.”

Yuzu found it a curious coincidence that Yuya and Yugo looked alike and both possessed dragons which were named after a summoning method. She mused out loud, “Hmm, but why would Yugo’s card send you so far away from him?”

Rin sighed and answered, “I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it wanted me to meet you and Yuya?” She also wondered if Clear Wing took her completely out of Neo Domino City to get her as far away from Yuri as possible.

Wanting to cheer the other girl up, Yuzu told her, “Well, as long as you’re here, we’ll do whatever we can to get you back. And in the meantime, you can join You Show!”

Tilting her head, Rin repeated, “You Show?”

Yuzu elaborated, “Yeah, it’s the Duel School Yuya and I go to. It doesn’t have a lot of students, and my dad’s the principal, but we’re the best place to learn about Action Duels!”

Rin recalled, “Oh yeah, Yuya told me a bit about Action Duels. He also said that there was another school that teaches Synchro, Fusion, and Xyz summoning?” She found the concept of a Duel School intriguing, something she would never have gotten access to in the Commons.

The other girl grimaced, answering, “Yeah, Leo Duel School teaches all the summoning methods.” Yuzu then brightened up, continuing, “But now that Yuya invented Pendulum Summoning, we have a method they don’t, and we recently got a new student who plays a Fusion deck!”

Rin smirked, and guessed, “Oh, so you want me to join so you’ll get Synchro summoning too!”

Yuzu rolled her eyes, “Sure, but you’ll get to learn about Pendulum and Fusion Summoning, so I’d say it’s a fair trade.” Since her father, the only teacher at the school, didn’t know anything about the Extra Deck summoning methods, she knew that the students at You Show would have to rely on themselves to learn them. 

Rin chuckled and replied, “That’s fine with me. I’d be glad to join your school!” Coming from the Commons, she was not ashamed to seizing any possible opportunity and didn’t begrudge Yuzu for doing the same. Besides, it sounded like LDS was filled with spoiled rich brats like those from the Tops, and it would be nice to take them down a peg.

Yuzu exclaimed, “Great!” before joking, “Now we just need to find someone who uses Xyz Summoning and we’ll be the only school in Miami City with all the summoning methods!”

Both girls laughed, though Rin pointed out, “I think you’re forgetting Ritual Summoning!” Though it was obviously not as popular as Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz, Rin guessed that a few people did still use it here in Miami. 

Yuzu conceded, “Good point. But hey, 4 out of 5 wouldn’t be too bad!” 

As it was getting late, the girls soon went to bed. Rin was finally able to reflect on the many things that happened that day. Aside from almost being kidnapped and taken to a completely different city, she felt the most shocking part was finding out that there was another girl with her face and 2 other boys with Yugo’s face. One possibility was that they were all long-lost identical twins and triplets, but it seemed way too much of a coincidence that both her and Yugo had “twins” here that were just as close to each other. Rin also wondered whether all this was connected to Clear Wing transporting her to Miami City. 

Right now, Rin did not have many answers, but she did have a nice warm bed for the night, and tomorrow was another day to start finding those answers.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, everyone gathered at You Show Duel School to watch Yuya and Rin duel. Gong, Sora, and the three kids were very confused to see a Yuzu look-alike, but Rin told everyone that neither she nor Yuzu knew why they had the same face.

 

Shuzo decided to give the duelists a simple Action Field, so he activated the Plain Plain Field. As the field was transformed into a platform surrounded by a beautiful meadow, Rin looked around in amazement, exclaiming, “Wow, this is really cool!” Back in Neo Domino City, Sector Security had Real Solid Vision for their monsters which they used to brutalize the Commons, but transforming an entire area like this was a completely novel experience.

 

Rin had also taken note of the pile of cards that had fallen throughout the field, which she assumed were the Action Cards that Yuya had told her about earlier. Now ready for battle, the Synchro girl drew her 5 cards and told her opponent, “All right Yuya, I’m ready to see what Pendulum Summoning is all about!”

 

Yuya nodded, and smiled at his opening hand, knowing that he’d be able to fulfill her request. He held out two of the cards in his hand and announced, “With Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale! I’m taking control of this duel starting now!”

 

Rin was amazed to see the two magicians rise up in two pillars of light, with numbers representing their Scales appearing below them. Yuya continued, “I’m allowed to summon monsters from Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time! Swing far pendulum, carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready to swing into action!”

 

As Yuya chanted, three beams of light rained down onto the field, revealing the monsters summoned: Level 2 **Performapal Hip Hippo** (800 DEF), Level 5 **Performapal Drummerilla** (1600 ATK), and Level 7 **Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon** (2500 ATK).

 

The Synchro girl was still somewhat in shock seeing the new summoning method, but she mused, “So your Pendulum cards let you Pendulum Summon as many monsters with levels strictly between the scale numbers as you want?”

 

Yuya excitedly nodded, “Yep! And that’s only the beginning! But for now, I’ll give you the spotlight!” The boy then jumped onto Odd-Eyes and began riding it around the field, to the bemusement of Rin. But she began to giggle as she saw how much fun he was having. After all, riding a Duel Runner and riding a dragon weren’t that different.

 

Meanwhile, in the audience, Sora nibbled on his lollipop and noted, “Wow, she figured out how Pendulum Summoning works pretty easily.”

 

Yuzu rolled her eyes, countering, “He did sort of explain it in his chant. Though now that I think about it, it’s weird Yuya took so long to figure it out himself.”

 

Rin drew her 6th card to begin her turn. She smirked and then exclaimed, “Well Yuya, you’re not the only one who can summon multiple monsters!” Rin held up a card and explained, “When I have no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon **Windwitch - Ice Bell** directly from my hand!”

 

Yuya took a look at her monster and immediately reacted, “Wow, she’s cute!”

 

The Synchro girl chuckled, replying, “Thanks, but don’t let that fool you! Immediately after she’s summoned, I can summon another Windwitch directly from my deck, and I choose **Windwitch - Glass Bell** **!** ”

 

Yuya was even more in awe of her second monster, observing, “Wow, another one! And she sort of looks like you, Rin!”

 

Rin responded, “You’re very charming, but before I get to her, my Ice Bell’s second ability activates, dealing you 500 points of damage!”

 

The boy’s smile dropped as he took a blast of icy wind from her cute monster, dropping his Life Points to 3500. The Synchro girl continued, “Now, back to Glass Bell. When she’s summoned, I can add yet another Windwitch from my deck to my hand, and this time I choose **Windwitch - Snow Bell** **.** And since I have 2 WIND monsters on the field, I can Special Summon her to my field at well!”

 

Yuzu mused softly, “Wow, she was able to summon 3 monsters just from a single one!”

 

Sora added, “And she can still Normal Summon another monster from her hand.”

 

Yuya smiled at his opponent and said, “Wow, you were right! You summoned just as many monsters as I did!”

 

Rin countered, “Oh Yuya, I’m not even close to done. I activate the Spell Card, **Chime of the Windwitch** **!** Since I have another copy of Ice Bell in my hand, I can summon the 3rd copy from my deck. And with her arrival comes another 500 points of damage for you!”

 

Yuya suffered another freezing hit as his Life Points were reduced to 3000. Rin continued relentlessly, “And now, I summon the Ice Bell that’s in my hand, which means some more damage is coming your way!”

 

As Yuya’s points dropped further to 2500, Sora observed, “So, she uses a burn strategy. But her monsters are all weaker than Yuya’s, and she can’t summon any more.”

 

Yuzu, who was the only one in the audience that knew otherwise, corrected, “No, she’s definitely not done.” She knew that the other girl’s moves up until now had just been a preamble to what would come next.

 

Rin then told her opponent, “Okay Yuya, since you were kind enough to show me the secrets of Pendulum summoning, it’s time to reveal my surprise!”

 

The boy smirked and encouraged, “Bring it on Rin!” He was excited to see Synchro Summoning in person for the first time.

 

The Synchro girl began, “You got it! Now, both my Glass Bell and Snow Bell are Tuner Monsters! That means I can tune my Level 3 Ice Bell with my Level 4 Glass Bell in order to Synchro Summon!”

 

Sora involuntarily bit off half his lollipop as he realized that not only did the new girl know how to Synchro Summon, but both Yuya and Yuzu knew about this beforehand. Now, if his hunch about Rin were true, the situation would be a lot more complicated.

 

After Rin’s proclamation, Glass Bell transformed into 4 green gears, which surrounded 3 points of light created from Ice Bell. As the lights combined, Rin chanted, “I’m summoning a monster that will hit you with all the power of a wicked wintertime blizzard. I Synchro Summon the Level 7, **Windwitch - Winter Bell** **!** ”

 

As her Synchro monster appeared on her field (2400 ATK), Yuya guessed, “So, do you add the levels of the monsters you use to get the level of the Synchro monster?” That seemed like the best explanation for why she had announced the levels.  

 

Rin nodded, “Yep, and once per turn, Winter Bell can copy the effect of a Windwitch in my graveyard. I choose Ice Bell, which means you take 500 more points of damage!” A silhouette of Ice Bell appeared, before disappearing and allowing Winter Bell to blast Yuya’s Life Points down to 2000.

 

Sora, having gotten over his shock, exclaimed, “Wow, she’s made Yuya lose half his life points already and she hasn’t even attacked yet.”

 

Yuzu nodded and added, “And since Snow Bell is also a Tuner Monster, you know what that means!”

 

On cue, Rin continued, “Now, Level 1 Snow Bell tunes my two Level 3 Ice Bells.” Reciting the chant she had heard Yugo recite thousands of times she exclaimed, “Beat your wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction. I Synchro Summon, the Level 7 **Clear Wing Synchro Dragon**!”

 

As Rin’s dragon appeared on the field, Yuya felt his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon resonate with it. For a moment, he felt a stirring in his chest, but it was soon gone and he was able to ask, “So, you can use more than 2 monsters to Synchro Summon?”

 

His opponent answered, “Yeah, as long as their levels add up correctly, you can usually use 1 Tuner and any number of non-Tuners to Synchro Summon. My Winter Bell requires all the monsters I use to be Windwitches, but Clear Wing doesn’t have any restrictions like that.” Rin didn’t want to get into all the possible nuances and exceptions, since a general explanation would be fine for now.

 

Now that she knew the basics of how Synchro Summoning worked, Yuzu theorized, “Hmm, it looks like Synchro Summoning is a more generic form of Fusion summoning, without specific monster requirements or needing to use Polymerization.”

 

Sora was not about to take such an insult to Fusion Summoning lying down, and countered, “A lot of Fusion Monsters have generic requirements too, and there are lots of cards that make Fusion Summoning very easy, and you can use monsters in your hand too.  But for Synchro Summoning, you need to make sure the levels add up exactly and you need a Tuner monster, and all of them need to be on the field. So Synchro Summoning not as easy as you think.”

 

Yuzu didn’t want to argue with Sora in the middle of her friend’s duel, so she replied, “If you say so,” and continued watching.

 

Rin then entered her Battle Phase, shouting, “My Winter Bell will attack Performapal Drummerilla!” In response, Yuya tried to activate Drumerilla’s effect, which would give itself 600 more ATK. However, the girl surprised him by countering, “I activate Clear Wing Synchro Dragon’s special ability! Since a Level 5 or higher monster activated its effect, your Drummerilla is destroyed, and Clear Wing gains its attack points!” Sure enough, Yuya’s Performapal was destroyed, and Clear Wing’s ATK rose to 4100 ATK.

 

His eyes widened, and exclaimed, “Wow, that’s a really powerful effect!” Yuya knew that he would have to be careful and play around her dragon’s ability, especially since many of his monsters had high levels.

 

The Synchro girl continued, “Since her original target is gone, I’ll attack your Hip Hippo with Winter Bell!” The unfortunate hippo was immediately destroyed, but fortunately for Yuya, it was in defense mode.

 

Rin then ordered Clear Wing to attack its Pendulum counterpart. Yuya had been running around throughout her attacks, and he finally found an Action Card and immediately activated it, “I activate the Action Spell, **Evasion** , which negates Clear Wing’s attack.” Odd-Eyes subsequently dodged the attack.

 

The girl mused, “Hmm, those cards can be very useful...Anyway, I end my turn, so now Clear Wing’s attack points return to normal.” Clearly, Yuya used Action Cards regularly for protection, judging from how easily he moved around the field.

 

Yuya sighed in relief; if Clear Wing’s attack had hit, he would have been in a much worse situation. He praised his opponent, “Wow, your Synchro skills are amazing!”

 

Rin smiled and replied, “Thanks, and your Pendulum Summoning was pretty impressive too, but let’s see if you can turn this around!”

 

Yuya drew and said, “You asked for it! Now, since I’ve already set my Pendulum scales, I can Pendulum Summon once again! From my hand, I summon **Performapal Elephammer** (2600 ATK), and from my Extra Deck, making a return appearance, **Performapal Drummerilla**!”

 

A bit bewildered, the Synchro girl asked, “Why was that monster in your Extra Deck?”

 

The boy explained, “When Pendulum cards are destroyed on the field, they go to the Extra Deck instead of the graveyard, and I can Pendulum Summon them again if my scales are right.”

 

Rin slowly nodded, “Oh I see, so you’ll always have access to them and keep bringing them back.”

 

Yuya replied, “That’s right! Now, continuing my turn, I’ll attack your Clear Wing Synchro Dragon with my Elephammer!” The extra 100 ATK was enough the slay the dragon and drop Rin to 3900 life points.

 

The boy continued his onslaught by activating Drumerilla’s effect and boosting Odd-Eyes to 3100 ATK, which went through now that Clear Wing had been destroyed. After Odd-Eyes had destroyed Winter Bell, Yuya revealed, “When Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, you take double the damage! Reaction Force!” This heightened damage reduced her to 2500 life points, and then a direct attack from Drummerilla left her with just 900.

 

Yuya was relieved that he was able to destroy both of her ace monsters, and told Rin, “I end my turn, so Odd-Eyes’ attack returns to normal.”

 

Rin got up from the ground and drew her next card. When she saw what it was, she immediately knew she would be able to turn the duel around. Showing the card to Yuya, she began, “Since I control no monsters, I can summon **Speedroid Terrortop** directly from my hand!”

 

As a procession of spinning tops appeared on the field, Rin continued, “Terrortop lets me add any other Speedroid monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose **Speedroid Taketomborg**!”

 

Yuya observed the two monsters and asked, “Speedroid? I thought you used a Windwitch deck?”

 

Rin explained, “I do, but Yugo gave me a few of his Speedroid cards because they sync really well with my deck!”

 

Yuzu noted with some confusion, “It’s not too common to put two different archetypes in your deck.”

 

Sora countered, “But I use Fluffal, Edge Imp, and Frightfur cards. Sometimes different archetypes go together like that.”

 

Yuzu responded, “Yeah, but you fuse Fluffals and Edge Imps to make Frightfurs. So far, it seems like Speedroids and Windwitches only support themselves. I guess all of them are WIND monsters, so that might be how they go together?”

 

Sora shrugged and replied, “Maybe. Let’s keep watching, she’s definitely just getting started.”

 

Rin did not disappoint, announcing, “I activate Taketomborg’s special ability! By tributing it, I can summon a Speedroid Tuner monster from my deck, and I choose **Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice**!”

 

Noticing that Terrortop was Level 3 and Red-Eyed Dice was Level 1, Yuya asked, “So you’re gonna summon a Level 4 Synchro now?”

 

The Synchro girl smirked, “Not quite. My Red-Eyed Dice can change the level of my Terrortop to any number between 1 and 6, and I choose to make it Level 6!”

 

Her opponent was stunned, “Wow, a card that changes levels!” But Yuya quickly surmised,  “So with that ability, you could Synchro Summon anything from Level 2 through 7!” Rin’s move gave Yuya a glimpse of a more advanced technique to support Synchro Summoning.

 

Rin nodded, “Yep, you catch on quickly! You don’t need to go to a fancy school to learn how to Synchro Summon. It’s just simple addition!” She continued with her turn, “Now, I activate the Spell card,  **Shining Rebirth**. This card lets me use my two monsters to Synchro Summon a monster from my graveyard, instead of from my Extra Deck!”

 

Yuya parroted, “From your graveyard?”

 

Rin answered, “That’s right! So I’ll tune Level 6 Speedroid Terrortop with my Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice! Go, Phantom Synchro! I Synchro Summon, Level 7, **Clear Wing Synchro Dragon**!”

 

Yuya was a bit apprehensive about seeing that dragon return to the field, but he noted, “But your Clear Wing can’t do much by itself, and I’ll be able to destroy it again when it’s my turn.”

 

His opponent smirked, “Sorry Yuya, but you won’t be getting another turn! I summon **Speedroid Razorang** from my hand!” After her monster appeared on the field with 2000 ATK, she continued, “I activate its special ability! By switching itself into defense mode, Razorang can decrease any monster’s attack by 300, and I choose your Elephammer!”

 

Yuya immediately became worried, since now she could destroy Elephammer, and then he would have nothing that could defeat her Clear Wing. However, the boy was absolutely stunned when she announced, “Since a Level 5 or higher monster was targeted by Razorang, Clear Wing can destroy it and gain its attack points!”

 

As Razorang was destroyed and Rin’s dragon rose to 4500 ATK, Yuya questioned, “So Clear Wing can not only negate the effects of high level monsters, it can also negate effects that target them too? And you can use that ability on your own monsters?!”

 

Rin answered, “That’s right, Yuya! Now, Clear Wing attacks your Performapal Drummerilla!” Seeing Yuya riding Odd-Eyes to find an Action Card, she decided to begin looking for one as well.

 

Yuya did indeed find one, announcing, “I activate the Action Spell, **Miracle**! Not only is my Drummerilla not destroyed, but the damage I take is cut in half!” As a result, Yuya’s Performapal survived the attack, and he remained with 550 Life Points.

 

However, he was in for a surprise when Rin exclaimed, “Two can play at that game, Yuya! I activate the Action Spell, **Wonder Chance** , which lets my Clear Wing attack again! This time, I’ll attack your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” Her dragon’s attack destroyed Yuya’s ace monster and reduced his Life Points to 0.

 

Everyone in the audience was shocked at Yuya’s defeat. Yuzu felt very impressed and a bit intimidated by Rin’s clear dueling prowess, but she was also worried for Yuya and hoped he wouldn’t take this loss too hard.

 

Meanwhile, Sora narrowed his eyes. This new girl was clearly an expert on Synchro summoning, being able to change her monsters’ levels and even Synchro Summon them from the graveyard. He had no doubt that she was from the Synchro dimension.

 

After the Action Field and all the monsters disappeared, Rin walked over to Yuya, who was still sitting on the ground with his face down. He looked up at her and smiled, “That was a really fun duel! Your Synchro Summoning was amazing!”

 

Rin was flattered, and replied, “Thanks! Your Pendulum Summoning was really cool too! I’ve never seen anything like it.” She then offered him a hand.

 

Yuya grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, replying, “Yeah, but I have a lot of work to do to make it even better!” He nervously rubbed his neck with his free hand, adding, “You’re definitely the best duelist I’ve ever faced! But please don’t tell Yuzu I said that, or she’ll hit me with her fan!”

 

Both of them laughed at Yuya’s comment, and they then separated and rejoined their friends. The three kids were very excited and asked Rin a lot of questions, which she tried her best to answer.

 

Yuzu was a bit worried about Yuya. She took him to the side to talk in private, and she asked him, “Are you sure you’re okay, Yuya?” She knew that Yuya could sometimes get depressed, ever since his dad disappeared, and Yuzu recalled that Yuya was about to cry after he lost to her a few days earlier.

 

Yuya gave her a genuine smile and answered, “I’m feeling great, Yuzu. Yeah, I lost, but I got to learn about Synchro Summoning and face a really good duelist! I’m not going to cry just because I lost.”

 

Yuzu smiled back, glad that her best friend wasn’t feeling down. They both then rejoined everyone else and they all continued discussing the amazing duel they just witnessed.


End file.
